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Ireland's Troy Parrott with Israel’s Raz Shlomo.
Inpho
oireachtas sports committee
FAI to tell committee Israel match decision was 'in the interests of Irish football as a whole'
The FAI is “bound” by UEFA rules, the organisation will tell the committee later today.
THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland (FAI) will tell an Oireachtas committee today that the “suffering and devastation in Gaza weigh heavily across the Association” and they “wish [they] were not in this position”.
David Courell, chief executive of the FAI, will talk about the “difficult decision” the FAI took in continuing the controversial match between Ireland and Israel at the weekend.
The Republic of Ireland played against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, in a contentious match where players bowed their heads during the playing Israeli anthem, refused to shake hands with the Israeli team, and wore black armbands in recognition of all the lives lost in the conflict.
The FAI were criticised for allowing the match to go ahead, given the ongoing war in Gaza, which has been designated a genocide by the UN.
Despite the Republic of Ireland team deciding in an emergency meeting on Saturday to fulfil the fixture, one player, Gavin Bazunu refused to participate in the controversial Nations League fixture as a matter of “principle”.
The Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport will examine FAI safeguarding and governance in the meeting today, as well as the FAI’s approach to upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures and the recent match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel.
The opening statement by Courell says that “the FAI has repeatedly communicated its position to UEFA, including calling for Israel’s suspension on the basis of breach of statutes in relation to clubs operating in occupied territories.
“As a UEFA member and competition participant, however, the FAI is bound by the applicable rules and obligations.”
Courell will add that “following thoughtful Board consideration and engagement with our members, the decision was taken to fulfil the fixtures.”
This decision, he will say, was supported by the FAI’s general assembly at an extraordinary general meeting in July.
The decision was “not an endorsement of Israel’s participation or a dismissal of deeply held views across the country.
“It was a difficult institutional decision made in the interests of Irish football as a whole.
“Our responsibility is to protect players, staff and supporters, and the programmes and structures on which football communities depend.
“We hope the Committee understands that fulfilling these fixtures reflects our duty to safeguard the stability and sustainability of Irish football for current and future generations.”
The Ireland and Israel teams are due to meet again on Sunday, with Ireland’s nominal home fixture being played behind closed doors at a neutral venue in Serbia.
People before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger has called on Courell and the board to resign, asking Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday: “Do you agree that the FAI handling was shambolic, arrogant, and incompetent, and the CEO and the board should resign for their handling of it?”
“The team was sent into a cauldron of racial abuse, monkey chants for one of the players, an IDF chant. A video circulated of Yosef Hadad, who was actually brought into the Oireachtas by Minister (Jennifer Carroll) McNeil, apparently stating that we (Israel) may lose the football, but the IDF always wins.”
Criticisms of Israel should take place in diplomatic discourse, not around the playing of a match, the Taoiseach responded, who claimed Coppinger was using the debate as a way to score political points.
“The level of suffering inflicted on the civilian population in Gaza and even the West Bank is horrific, and it is an affront to human decency and in my view, the Irish government has been particularly strong in comparison to many other governments across the world in relation to this issue,” he said.
“I’ve noticed since the outset of the war, it’s moved from issue to issue to issue, and the debate in Ireland seems to always focus on the government isn’t doing enough, and we’re almost dividing among ourselves what Ireland’s stance and how strong it is.
“I’m seeking more effective ways than a football match, frankly, to try and change Israeli direction and strategy, because Israel’s actions in the West Bank now, through settlements, threatens the two-state solution in a very, very serious way.”
Ireland will play Austria in Dublin on Thursday, before the controversial second tie against Israel in Serbia on Sunday.
With reporting by PA
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